94: From Technological Warfare to Space Empire

The situation was more serious than Lin Yu had imagined.

Whether it's throwing feces or paint, smashing windows, or threatening to burn down houses.

To put it bluntly, these are all just thuggish tactics targeting him.

But lead poisoning is much more serious than these things.

Mild poisoning can cause headaches and insomnia, while severe poisoning can directly damage the nervous system.

Prolonged exposure will gradually damage your brain.

The US banned this stuff not because environmental groups were making a huge fuss, but because people were actually dying from it.

If Wu Xiangrong causes problems in storage or transportation in order to make money, then every drop of oil he sells now will be a potent poison.

No, that's not right.

Even if nothing goes wrong, the oil he sells is a slow-acting poison.

When this gasoline is ignited, exhaust fumes fill the air.

Everyone who inhales it will become poisoned.

Lin Yu covered his mouth and nose and immediately dragged Zhang Guoqiang out of the factory gate.

Once outside, Zhang Guoqiang was still completely bewildered, unaware of what had happened.

Then Lin Yu asked breathlessly.

"You're saying all gasoline on the market smells like this?"

Zhang Guoqiang nodded.

"Yes, is there a problem?"

Lin Yu gave a wry smile; this was a huge problem.

If this type of gasoline is available on the market.

In the entire city of Beijing, from the largest to the smallest, there is no one whose blood lead concentration is below the standard.

In other words, everyone is in a state of chronic lead poisoning!

"This is a huge problem."

"Are they really using such outdated stuff as gasoline anti-knock agents these days?"

"This is a huge problem! This stuff is toxic, and long-term use could affect the intelligence of an entire generation."

"Wu Xiangrong's batch of gasoline has such a strong smell, and he claims it's very effective, so he must have added an even larger dose."

As Lin Yu spoke, he frowned and pondered deeply, then solemnly saluted Zhang Guoqiang.

"Comrade! We must find out as soon as possible whether anyone in his upstream or downstream supply chain has been poisoned!"

"If the levels are indeed significantly higher than the safe limit, then many people who came into direct contact with the contaminated area may already be poisoned without their knowledge. We must find them now and send them to the hospital for treatment immediately!"

Hearing Lin Yu say this, Zhang Guoqiang nodded solemnly.

He immediately ran to send someone to communicate and retrieve the records.

After Zhang Guoqiang left, Lin Yu stood outside, breathing in the air, too afraid to go into the factory area. He thought that if all the gasoline was now leaded, then he would be in danger just by breathing.

Even if you return to the office and close the doors and windows tightly, it won't help.

This thing was invented by Thomas Midgilli.

Lin Yu learned about this because Patterson discovered, while using the uranium-lead method to sequence the Earth's age, that there was no place on Earth where the lead content did not exceed the standard.

It was only later that it was discovered that Thomas Midgley, the inventor of the anti-knock gasoline additive ethyl gasoline, had simplified tetraethyl lead to ethyl and claimed that this stuff was harmless.

But it was too late. The widespread adoption of leaded gasoline globally has already led to severe lead pollution across the planet.

This situation wasn't completely eliminated until 2021.

This guy also invented Freon, which caused a hole to appear in the ozone layer, which has been maintaining the Earth's temperature balance for a very long time.

Fortunately, because he personally tested his gasoline to prove it was non-toxic, he contracted polio and eventually strangled himself with fishing line in his wheelchair, thus preventing him from inventing more toxic substances.

Lin Yu was getting a little anxious.

Lead dust from the combustion of ethyl gasoline settles in the air, mostly within a meter of the surface.

This area happens to be the child's breathing zone.

Lead has no physiological function in the human body, and once ingested, it takes 25 years to excrete 50%.

Lead poisoning can cause liver, kidney, and reproductive toxicity.

It can also cause symptoms such as insomnia, dizziness, anemia, and memory decline, but these symptoms are still common symptoms.

The most frightening thing is that lead poisoning in children can lead to intellectual developmental disorders and difficulty concentrating.

Experimental studies have confirmed that children with high blood lead levels have total IQ, performance IQ, and verbal IQ scores that are 13 to 14 points lower than those with low lead levels.

This is a life-altering event and must be resolved quickly!

Zhang Guoqiang didn't return until evening.

He entered with a livid face and a stack of papers in his hand.

"We've found it! Quite a few people have indeed been poisoned!"

He placed the paper in front of Lin Yu:

"There's a gas station in Tongzhou. After they changed to new oil last month, three employees experienced dizziness and nausea. One of them even fainted next to the fuel pump."

"The gas station owner thought it was heatstroke and didn't take it seriously."

"But the employee who fainted is still recuperating at home. He said his memory has declined significantly, and sometimes he can't even remember which street he lives on."

Lin Yu flipped through the records, his finger pausing on a particular line:

"Residents have complained that the gas stations in Daxing have a strong odor that causes headaches. The Environmental Protection Bureau investigated and concluded that there was no significant exceedance of standards."

Lin Yu sneered:

"The Environmental Protection Bureau is checking for volatile organic compounds, not tetraethyl lead."

"Tetraethyl lead is colorless and cannot be detected unless specifically tested."

Lin Yu continued scrolling down, becoming increasingly alarmed and silent with each page he read.

Within a month, five of the twelve gas stations that Wu Xiangrong supplied products to reported abnormal health conditions among their employees.

Some suffer from headaches and insomnia, others from mental confusion, and two are so severe that they are unable to work normally.

All of these abnormalities were treated as common occupational diseases or heatstroke.

Nobody even considered the possibility of it being related to gasoline! It was completely beyond their comprehension!

Moreover, it was widely acknowledged that Wu Xiangrong's gasoline was of high quality, and people never imagined that it was actually a deadly poison.

Lin Yu closed the stack of papers, covering his eyes with his hands as if he had a headache. This was a big deal!

It's impossible that no one knew about the US's cleanup of leaded gasoline, but the fact that it's still so rampant suggests the existence of a protective umbrella.

He said, "How can Wu Xiangrong, the owner of a small oil refinery, have such great power?"

But his gasoline is of good quality, which makes me wonder if he has direct connections with overseas entities.

The United States only completely banned leaded gasoline this year, but gasoline companies will not give up this market share so easily.

If they're not going to do it on their own soil, they'll do it in another country!

They will definitely clear out their inventory at least.

The office remained quiet for a long time.

Zhang Guoqiang dared not utter a sound, and just stood there waiting, pinning his hopes on the omnipotent Lin Yu to provide a solution.

This is just the number of people who have suffered direct, severe poisoning; he doesn't even dare to imagine how many people have suffered from chronic poisoning.

He thought back carefully and sadly discovered that his memory had declined considerably since he was a child.

After a long while, Lin Yu finally opened his eyes and said calmly and decisively:

"Organize these materials into three sets."

"A copy was sent to the health and epidemic prevention station, requesting that the fuel quality of those gas stations be tested under the guise of an anonymous tip from the public."

"Send a letter to the police, saying that they suspect someone has added toxic substances to gasoline, endangering public safety."

"I sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Bureau, saying that I suspect a gas station is illegally emitting toxic volatile substances."

Zhang Guoqiang was stunned:

"Send it to three places?"

"Send it to three locations!"

Lin Yu stood up:

"The health and epidemic prevention station will check the oil products. If they find that the tetraethyl lead level is too high, they will report it to the health bureau."

"The police will investigate whether someone deliberately poisoned the animals, and the investigation will lead back to Wu Xiangrong."

"The Environmental Protection Bureau will investigate the source of pollution, and they will find those gas stations."

"When all three lines move simultaneously, none can hold them back."

"By the time they realized what was happening, the evidence had already been delivered to higher authorities."

The three departments are independent of each other and do not communicate with each other. They received the report at the same time and started investigating at the same time.

Even if Wu Xiangrong has connections, how could he simultaneously control the health, public security, and environmental protection systems?

Moreover, this was an anonymous report, so he doesn't even know who to contact if he wants to get it removed.

"Comrade Lin, what's wrong...?"

Lin Yu picked up the stack of materials on the table and handed it to Zhang Guoqiang:

"He plays dirty tricks, so I'll play along."

"If he dares to use public opinion to attack me, I'll fight him with facts."

"He harms my workers, I'll harm his manhood."

"Besides, this matter must be publicized! Everyone needs to see what's going on!"

"We can't wait any longer regarding leaded gasoline! We have to expose this issue!"

"We don't have time for slow reforms. The United States is probably dumping its excess tetraethyl lead all over the world right now."

"If this is not taken seriously, it will poison the nervous system of an entire generation! The consequences would be unimaginable!"

"I'll write an article about this later; it absolutely has to be published!!"